President Ahmed Madobe has received Kenya’s Defense Minister Aden Duale in Kismayo, the interim administrative capital of Jubaland.
The leaders held discussions on upcoming military activities expected to be conducted in the weeks ahead.
Kenya has a large military presence in Jubaland, using the region as a buffer zone for Somalia to protect areas along the border.
Defense Minister Adan Barre Duale also visited and inspected Kenyan army soldiers who are part of the Africa Union Troops in Somalia.
ATMIS is expected to participate in military activities that will soon start in Jubaland districts.
The leaders discussed the preparation for the launch of operations targeting Al-Shabaab group from Jubbaland districts and the support of the Kenyan Government army who are part of the ATMIS operation which is part of the recent operations.
The president and the minister have worked deeply on how to cooperate with the security of the borders during the period of these activities.
Somalia is currently conducting offensive military operations in many parts of south central Somalia. More than 70 percent of villages have been liberated according to the Somali Government.
The group is now largely present in Jubaland where there is natural rainforest cover, a significant hideout for the militants.
The militants have besieged governments in Mogadishu for years, seeking to topple the Somali government.
The group which once controlled more than half of Somalia wants to implement its own strict version of sheria law.
The group which has pledged allegiance to Al-Qaeda in 2012 has carried out attacks in neighboring Kenya and in Ethiopia for supporting stabilization efforts in the country.
October 16th 2011, Kenya Defence Forces moved into Southern Somalia to pursue insurgents group Al Shabaab after a series of kidnappings of tourists along the border. One month, later Kenyan government agreed to re-hat its forces under the African Union Mission in Somalia.
The troops from Kenya were later formally integrated into AMISOM on February 22, 2012 after the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 2036.
AMSOM’s Sector 2, which has its headquarters in the port city of Kismayo, is comprised of Lower and Middle Juba. Currently there are about 4000 troops from Kenya.
